Voting (2)

Upon hearing this, Joseph felt even less inclined to participate. Although he didn't participate much in club activities, he was not entirely unaware of the club's current situation. Since the King's escape, the club had been divided. Previously, almost all members of the Friends of the Constitution Club supported a constitutional monarchy, but after this incident, some had shifted their support to a republic. And after the events at Mars Square, this division would likely become even more pronounced.

As for the election of a new club president, the current president is Lafayette, although he has been less involved in club activities lately due to his busy schedule. He is still a candidate, and Joseph knows without a doubt that the other candidate at this club meeting is Robespierre. Moreover, he is certain that Robespierre will win this election. It's obvious that Lafayette is no longer confident in his chances; otherwise, he wouldn't have insisted on bringing him into the race.

"This is something I really can't get involved in. If things go wrong, I could lose my head!" Joseph thought to himself, and quickly said, "General, I didn't mean to refuse, it's just that I..."

Joseph couldn't think of a particularly plausible reason for a moment, and he was so anxious that sweat beaded on his face.

"What?" Lafayette frowned and glanced at Joseph. "Are you on a date with some girl? But this is more important, and I hope you can find a way to attend if possible."

Joseph finally came up with a plan: to feign illness. He decided to agree first, then pretend to be very sick as soon as he got home that evening, so sick he couldn't move— Lafayette couldn't very well carry him to the meeting on a stretcher, could he?

Having devised a plan, Joseph said, "Very well, General, I will make time for it."

"Alright, I'll be waiting for you." Lafayette smiled at Joseph. As for who Joseph would vote for, or who he would choose between himself and Robespierre, Lafayette felt that there was no need to ask.

After Lafayette left, Joseph quickly found Napoleon and told him about it on his way home, and they agreed on their story.

However, when the two of them reached their doorstep, Joseph was stunned, because he saw two people waiting at his door.

The two people waiting for Joseph at the door were Armand and Robespierre!

If he could, Joseph would have loved to turn and run immediately, but Armand and Robespierre had already spotted them. Armand waved at him, and Robespierre nodded back.

"There's no escaping it!" Joseph looked at Armand's sincere smile and felt a chill run through his body, as if he had been stripped naked and thrown onto the Siberia snowfield. In a daze, he seemed to see the imposing figure of the guillotine.

Joseph could guess with his own eyes why Armand and Robespierre had come to him—it must be about the vote.

"I was so stupid, so stupid!" Joseph thought. "I only knew that Lafayette would come to me when the vote was about to start; I never imagined that even Robespierre would come to me. If I were even a little smarter, I should have found a place to hide and stayed out all night..."

But it's too late to think about anything now; the guillotine—no, Robespierre— is already upon them.

"Mr. Bonaparte, I'm sorry to bother you at this time," Robespierre said with a smile.

"Joseph, why are you so late? Your brother wouldn't open the door for us, as if he was afraid we were the Big Bad Wolf!" Armand smiled innocently, like Little Red Riding Hood, completely oblivious to the fact that he had actually brought the Big Bad Wolf into their home.

"Lucien went to a classmate's house. Only Louis was home. He's a bit rigid, so I told him he wouldn't open the door for anyone unless I came home," Joseph replied with a forced smile.

The door was opened, Joseph entered with Napoleon, the troublesome Little Red Riding Hood, and the dreadful Big Bad Wolf. The group sat down, and Robespierre asked, "Mr. Bonaparte, is this your brother Napoleon? I've heard he's very talented in military affairs."

Napoleon remained silent, but Joseph could tell that Napoleon was actually quite pleased with himself.

"Napoleon has indeed been doing quite well lately," Joseph said. Robespierre was digressing, and Joseph was hoping he would ramble on a little longer so he could have more time to consider how to respond.

In theory, the same methods used against Lafayette could be used against Robespierre. But Joseph was hesitant. He knew that if he feigned illness and avoided the situation, even if Lafayette suspected him of faking it, he wouldn't behead him. But deceiving Robespierre was a different matter; once Robespierre became suspicious, things would get complicated.

"Perhaps there's a way to have the best of both worlds?" Joseph thought to himself as he made excuses to Robespierre and the others.

Robespierre finally got to the point. "Joseph, what are your thoughts on the King's abduction and escape, and the events at the Champ de Mars?"

"The king's escape?" Joseph replied, "I think he almost succeeded, but we still managed to bring him back. It seems that God also supports the revolution."

Mentioning God in Robespierre's presence at this point wouldn't be a problem, because not long ago, Robespierre had described devotion to God as the most important virtue in his writings.

Robespierre laughed, but he wasn't swayed by Joseph's answer. He continued, "Ah, Mr. Bonaparte, what I mean is, do you believe the King was 'kidnapped'?"

"I'm not stupid enough to believe such nonsense," Joseph sneered. He knew he had better not play dumb in front of Robespierre. If he had to choose between offending Lafayette and offending Robespierre, Joseph would definitely choose Lafayette. Because Lafayette didn't seem likely to send him to the guillotine. This showed that Machiavelli's saying that it was better to be a fearsome ruler than a beloved one was indeed quite true.

"But our king is truly a fool," Napoleon interjected. "Look at him, even his escape is a grand affair. He brings such a magnificent carriage, as if he wants everyone to know that the king is in it."

Now that Joseph had made his stance clear regarding the king's escape, Napoleon felt he no longer needed to hide anything.

"But Mr. Lafayette still insists that the King was 'kidnapped.' Bonaparte, what do you think of this?" Robespierre asked.

Joseph considered it. He knew that many people now felt he had received considerable benefits from Lafayette and was practically one of Lafayette's men. Robespierre's raising of this issue was largely a matter of determining friend or foe. If he continued to support Lafayette on this matter, Robespierre would clearly see him as a Lafayette loyalist and his political enemy.

But to immediately oppose Lafayette seemed too unscrupulous. Joseph knew that if someone acquired a reputation similar to that of Wenhou, they would face many troubles later. So he deliberately hesitated for a moment, then said, "Mr. Lafayette naturally knows that the King was not kidnapped, but rather that the King has always opposed revolution. But I think that Mr. Lafayette's statement may be to avoid war."

Seeing Robespierre's thoughtful expression, Joseph continued, "Mr. Lafayette may be worried that if we investigate the King's defection, it will lead to domestic rebellion and intervention from other countries. Mr. Robespierre, as you know, the France army is in a very bad state because its high command is unreliable. But we cannot replace them all at once. Therefore, Mr. Lafayette may be worried that if war breaks out, France will be in a very disadvantageous position."

"So, Mr. Bonaparte, what is your opinion on this matter? Do you agree with Lafayette's view?" Robespierre asked again.

Joseph shook his head and said, "I understand Mr. Lafayette's concerns, but I don't agree with his approach. I think Mr. Lafayette has made two mistakes on this matter."

"Tell me more about it!"

"First, Mr. Lafayette's vision is too limited to the military," Joseph said. "He doesn't understand that France's greatest strength is not the France army, but the France people. Allowing someone who has lost the people's trust and betrayed them to remain on the throne will severely damage the people's morale."

Secondly, he underestimated our enemy. He thought that if we backed down, we could gain the same goodwill from our enemy. But our enemy would not let up their attacks on us. On the contrary, our weakness would encourage them to take risks.

Moreover, the King has already made his opposition to the revolution clear. From now on, the monarchy has no way out. They understand that the people will never trust them again. From now on, any action we take, or any action they take, will only be seen as a stopgap measure by the other side. They will never believe that we are willing to retain his power; they will only see it as our fear of counter-revolutionary forces at home and abroad.

Lafayette might hope to buy time by retaining the king to rebuild the army. But the king and his people wouldn't be unaware of this. In their view, giving Lafayette such time would be tantamount to sentencing the monarchy to death. Therefore, they wouldn't grant Lafayette that time.

"You're right," Armand began. "Joseph, the club has an important meeting the day after tomorrow to re-elect the club president. This will determine the club's future. I think our club can no longer continue down the wrong path that Mr. Lafayette has taken."